HAMILTON – A big three-run double from Hailey Gald in Game 2 helped Colgate (11-23, 1-4 PL) come back to beat Lafayette (6-22, 4-4 PL) 7-5 and salvage a doubleheader split in Friday action at Eaton Street Softball Complex. The Raiders dropped the opening game 3-2. 

Lily Haluska hammered her fifth home run of the season, Gald finished with three RBIs, and Claire Whalen recorded a pair of hits on the day to lead Colgate's offense. Alexa Acker secured the win in the circle with five innings of scoreless relief in the nightcap. 

COACH LAMISON-MYERS' COMMENTS

"It was good to see our bats come alive there in the second game. It was important for our confidence heading into Sunday to prove to ourselves we can. A huge two-out bases-clearing double by first year Hailey Gald was not only a moment shift but it was exactly the spark we needed."

Game 1 | Lafayette 3, Colgate 2

Lafayette used timely hitting in the early stages to open a 3-0 lead. The Leopards took advantage of two walks to score two runs in the top of the second followed by an RBI single from Dani Rosner to extend the visitors' lead to 3-0 in the fourth. 

Colgate's first hit came in the home half of the fourth when Mia Cascio sparked the offense with a single up the middle. With two runners on base and two outs, Mackenzie Lewis came through with a hard-hit single to center field, cutting the Raiders' deficit to 3-2 after four innings.

Quinn Livesay singled in the sixth, and her pinch-runner Mia Edwards advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and groundout, but a flyout stranded the potential tying run at third base. Mikala Ham tossed two innings of scoreless relief, but the Raiders went down in order in the seventh to fall 3-2 in the opener.

Game 2 | Colgate 7, Lafayette 5

Lily Haluska blasted her fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the first, staking Colgate to an early 2-0 lead with a shot to right-center. Lafayette countered with five runs in the top of the third, sending nine batters to the plate in a five-hit frame to establish a 5-2 advantage. 

Hailey Gald lifted Colgate's spirits with the big hit in the fifth – a bases-clearing double that flipped the script. Trailing 5-3 with the bases loaded, Gald roped a pinch-hit three-run double down the left field line to give the Raiders a 6-5 lead. 

Jillian Herbst added an insurance run in the sixth with an RBI single to left. Alexa Acker hurled 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, scattering five hits with one strikeout to secure the win. She worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to lock down her fourth win of the season. 

UP NEXT
Colgate and Lafayette wrap up their three-game series on Sunday with first pitch from Eaton Street Softball Complex set for noon.